Way Too Early 2023 Final Four Predictions

By: Bryce Williams

With college basketball programs returning to practice this past Tuesday, I decided to give my way too early Final Four predictions. I am sure that these will change due to the ebbs and flows of the college basketball season, but before any of the chaos ensues, why not give it a try?

FINAL FOUR:

1. North Carolina

In Hubert Davis’ first year back at his alma mater, he surprised a lot of people. After a loss at home to Pitt to drop the Tar Heels to 18–8 on the season, many doubted if this team would even make the tournament. Davis stuck with his guys, imploring them to keep pushing on. The team clearly listened, as they went on one of the more memorable tournament runs in recent memory. A run to the Final Four was not what many people thought was in the cards for this team. Enough of last year, a new season means new faces. Well, kind of. North Carolina returns four starters from that Final Four team: Caleb Love, R.J. Davis, Leaky Black, and Armando Bacot. Losing forward Brady Manek will hurt, but Carolina is bringing in Northwestern transfer Pete Nance and five-star forward Jalen Washington to fill the hole. As long as Carolina can continue to play like they did at the end of last season, I see no reason why the Tar Heels cannot get back to the Final Four in 2023.

2. Houston

Since Kelvin Sampson has taken over Houston, the Cougars have been a wrecking ball in the AAC. This year should be no different, as they return their dominant backcourt of Jamal Shead and Marcus Sasser. Can you sense a theme? Returning great players leads to championships. The last Freshman lead team to win a National Title was Duke in 2015. Adding a five star freshman never hurt anybody though, and Sampson recruited an uber athletic forward in Jarace Walker to slide in at the four. Kelvin Sampson led teams are instilled to be tough defensively and on the glass, and this team should have no problems following those commands. Walker and J’Wan Roberts should be employed as window washers, because they are going to be cleaning the glass almost every night. Shead and Sasser will be the 1–2 punch Houston needs, and Walker should be able to choose when he wants to show off his five star talent. If I was a betting man, my money would feel very safe in the hands of the Cougars to win the AAC. Look for this team to make a deep run in the tournament this year.

3. Creighton

As I started planning out this article, I thought Creighton was going to be an under the radar contender. I was wrong. Many people in the national media believe in Creighton to be in Houston in early April. You may ask, why is everyone so high on this Creighton team? Well, the Blue Jays only lost by six to National Champion Kansas without their star guard Ryan Nembhard and center Ryan Kalkbrenner. Not to mention they return two other starters in standout guard Trey Alexander and the best player on the roster last year Arthur Kaluma, and add Baylor Scheierman, a sharpshooting wing who transferred back home from South Dakota State. This team should get up and down the court, scoring points at ease. I am worried about their perimeter defense, the backcourt of Nembhard and Alexander need to take a step up to really cement this team as a Final Four favorite.

4. San Diego State

The season hasn’t even started yet, so why not go a little off the wall? The last time we saw the Aztecs in the national spotlight was the 2019–2020 season, where they started off undefeated thanks to now Toronto Raptor Malachi Flynn. If it weren’t for the cancellation of the tournament that year, who knows what could have happened, maybe San Diego State makes a run. This year’s team is the best they’ve had since 2020, and somehow they still have Adam Seiko who was on that team. They will be pesky again on defense, a staple of the Aztecs since Brian Dutcher took over the team. If the backcourt can knock down shots at a consistent rate, San Diego State should have enough firepower to support Matt Bradley, who burst onto the scene last year. If San Diego State can stay close with their opponent for 38 minutes, they will look to Bradley to close out games, and that is starting to look like a winning formula. This team is a dark horse for a reason, but if the offense clicks, watch out for the Aztecs when March Madness rolls around.